2017 ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES – MESA
- Mesa, Arizona
- April 13 – 15, 2017
- Series Points/Money after Indy
- Live stream
- Psych sheets
- Friday finals heat sheets and timeline
- Live results
The 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series finals at Mesa will begin at 5pm Pacific Time after a highly competitive morning on day two. The final events for tonight include the 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke, and 50 freestyle.
Top swims from this morning included Katie Ledecky who will enter finals as top seed in the 200 freestyle and 400 IM. Josh Prenot and Chase Kalisz will battle it out in the men’s 400 IM seeded just .2 away from each other. Dylan Carter is the top seed in the 200 freestyle while Simone Manuel, Madison Kennedy and Lia Neal are all top contenders in the 50 freestyle tonight.
WOMEN’S 400 IM – FINALS
The 400 IM came down to a duel between Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey and America’s Katie Ledecky in the final 20 meters of the race. Ledecky had the lead over Harvey by a body length and a half after the backstroke leg, but Ledecky fell off during breaststroke. She was fifth at the 300 mark and closed out the race splitting 59.5 in freestyle (which was almost two seconds faster than Harvey’s freestyle split), but it wasn’t enough to win. 17 year-old Harvey finished with a 4:38.05 while Ledecky swam a 4:38.16 – still over 4 seconds faster than her morning swim.
The B Final in the 400 IM was one of the youngest heats we’ve seen yet. Seven of the swimmers were 20 years-old or younger. The youngest of the field at 13 years-old was Mariah Denigan who finished third with a 4:54.95 and was just 0.01 off her personal best. Hannah Cox’s time was just off her life time best as well with a 4:50.89 and she went nearly nine seconds faster than her swim this morning.
Top 8
- Harvey, 4:38.05
- Ledecky, 4:38.16
- Cox, 4:40.37
- Margalis, 4:40.47
- Eastin, 4:41.19
- Anderson, 4:49.54
- Forde, 4:50.00
- Nguyen, 4:50.89
MEN’S 400 IM – FINALS
The 400 IM was a close race this morning coming down to just .2 of a second between Chase Kalisz and Josh Prenot. However, at finals Kalisz completely separated himself from the field swimming in clear water most of the race. His time was the fourth fastest in the world this year at a 4:11.01. He split an impressive 1:04 on the backstroke leg – which was four seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
Cal’s Prenot was second with a 4:17.72 and Sean Grieshop was third with a 4:22.07.
Top 8
- Kalisz, 4:11.01
- Prenot, 4:17.72
- Grieshop, 4:22.07
- Gurevich, 4:23.18
- Arroyo, 4:27.34
- Cruz, 4:30.59
- Jurek, 4:37.06
- Vargas, 4:30.95
WOMEN’S 200 FREE – FINALS
Olympian Katie Ledecky didn’t let a tough double stop her tonight. Just two heats and 24 minutes before she raced in the 200 freestyle, she swam the 400 IM. This race she came out on top with the fourth fastest time in the world this year at a 1:56.31 with Leah Smith two seconds behind her in a 1:58.47 and Simone Manuel in third with a 1:58.98.
Ledecky said that she had just enough time to swim an 800 in between the two races. Melanie Margalis, who finished sixth with a 2:02.08, also did the 400 IM and 200 Free double.
Top 8
- Ledecky, 1:56.31
- Smith, 1:58.47
- Manuel, 1:58.98
- Hansson, 1:59.68
- Drabot, 2:00.38
- Margalis, 2:02.08
- Worrell, 2:03.47
- Case, 2:03.98
MEN’S 200 FREE – FINALS
The A Final in the 200 Free had a strong international showing with only two USA swimmers in the heat. Dylan Carter held his own with a strong race leading at the 100 mark with a 52.70 – just a few tenths faster than Joao De Lucca. Carter’s final turn gave him an even bigger lead as he closed out the race with a 50 split of 27.48 and a final time of 1:48.45.
De Lucca was a close second with a 1:49.51 and Venezuelan Olympian and former USC standout Cristian Quintero was third with a 1:49.59.
Top 8
- Carter, 1:48.45
- De Lucca, 1:49.51
- Quintero, 1:49:59
- Koski, 1:50.36
- Gutierrez, 1:50.44
- Weiss, 1:50.75
- Acosta, 1:50.96
- Carroll, 1:52.01
WOMEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS
The women’s 200 Back A Final came down to a battle between 17 year-old Eva Merrell and 18 year-old Erin Voss. Merrell got off to a quick lead splitting the 100 at a 1:03.85. Voss started to close in on her with her last 50 split of 32.74 coming down the stretch (which was about a second faster than Merrell’s last 50). Merrell held Voss off down the stretch finishing with a 2:11.63 while Voss swam to a 2:12.01 and Claire Adams was third with a 2:13.93.
Along with the 400 IM, the B Final of the women’s 200 Backstroke had another young field across the board. Seven of the eight swimmers were 18 years or younger with Mariah Denigan as the youngest at 13 year-old. She finished 14th overall with a 2:18.52 and also swam the 400 IM earlier tonight.
Top 8
- Merrell, 2:11.63
- Voss, 2:12.01
- Adams, 2:13.93
- Treuth, 2:14.70
- Dickinson, 2:17.70
- Koutsouveli, 2:17.99
- Paterson, 2:18.29
- Nguyen, 2:19.94
MEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS
The top three in the men’s 200 backstroke were all 2:00.66 or faster. Jacob Pebley held on to his top seed from this morning winning the 200 backstroke by nearly two seconds. Arkady Vyatchanin was second in a 1:58.61 and Sean Lehane was third with a time of 2:00.66. From there, the field dropped off three seconds.
The B Final was won by 15 year-old Ian Grum in a time of 2:06.24.
Top 8:
- Pebley, 1:56.88
- Vyatchanin, 1:58.61
- Lehane, 2:00.66
- Quah, 2:03.04
- Fredriksson, 2:03.19
- Echeverry, 2:04.64
- Perry, 2:06.14
- Pinzon, 2:08.80
WOMEN’S 50 FREE – FINALS
Only two swimmers in the women’s 50 free made it under the 25 second mark in finals. Stanford’s Simone Manuel won with a time of 24.66 and Madison Kennedy was second with a 24.99. Lia Neal was third with a 25.14. Manuel said after the race that the 50 felt “more like a 100”.
One thing to note was Kelsi Worrell (26.59) swam butterfly instead of freestyle. In the B Final, Kendyl Stewart (26.37) swam butterfly as well and Katie Meili swam breaststroke (30.94).
Top 8
- Manuel, 24.66
- Kennedy, 24.99
- Neal, 25.14
- Fa’amausili, 25.36
- Medeiros, 25.38
- Kendall, 25.83
- Worrell, 26.59
MEN’S 50 FREE – FINALS
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen of Finland finished first in the men’s 50 freestyle. He had the top time tonight by over three tenths. Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian moved up from a fifth seed from this morning and finished second with a 22.25 followed by Daniel Hunter in third with a 22.53.
Race Pace Club’s Michael Andrew finished fifth with a time of 22.62 and was by far the youngest in this final. At 17 years-old the next oldest was Daniel Hunter at 22 years-old. Andrew was swimming next to Cullen Jones (22.56) who is nearly twice his age at 33 years-old.
Top 8
- Liukkonen, 21.94
- Adrian, 22.25
- Hunter, 22.53
- Jones, 22.56
- Andrew, 22.62
- Virva, 22.77
- Schneider, 23.10
- Pechmann, 23.12
Very quick thoughts
(I’m still in shock that I’ve just discovered a world record by MP that I had totally missed. August 2003 200 IM 1.55.94 US nationals. I really thought that 1.55.94 was made in 2006. Error. He rebroke his world record in 1.55.84 in 2006. I’m almost sure I’ve never been aware of that August 2003 race! 🙂 I’ve just watched the video on youtube. Pretty sure it was the first time I’ve watched the race. No memories at all. Almost 14 years later. Never too late! 😆 And again sorry Luke Ryan, I made you correct your accurate time of 1.55.94 in your article. You were right. I was wrong. And I thought I knew each… Read more »
2003 was when he exploded on to the scene. 200 IM was at 1:58 high for a decade then bam 1:56.0, bam 1:55.94
Totally agree re the Ledecky breastroke leg! In long course you cannot hide when breastroke is your weakest stroke! Very impressed with the 1.56 200 only 23 min after that IM!
Great post.
Got to love Michael Andrew. Throws down a 22.62 50 free but can’t crack a 52 100 free.
He’s gotta go train with some of guys that are beating him.
Or he needs a real coach.
Yes, It’s time for one.
He has ridiculously bad crawl stroke technique for someone that tall.
exactly , one of the ugliest stroke i have seen in a long time ( compare to Clark Smith for example )
MP should come back for 2024 Los Angeles.
That won’t happen in a country like the United States
Well, I think people overreact to Trump.He is gone a little more moderate but being elected by the Republicans means you have to go right on some things. When I read about the high poverty rates in Los Angeles and lots of its related to having too many immigrants with low skills. A placed like East LA has a child poverty rate of 41 percent it makes me want to control the immigration better. LA once had the lowest poverty in the US for a big metro area when I was a kid with the aerospace. I feel sorry for people in Latin America or poor parts of Asia but you can impoverish people so far with high rent and… Read more »
When your great great grandparents migrated to America, were they high skilled workers with tons of money?
Trump not only want to limit low skilled immigrants he is cutting down visas for high skilled workers as well.
We might as well close all the borders, break all international agreements, stop trading with other countries, the way China and Japan did hundreds of years ago, leading to their downfall.
It is not 1870 .Japan still has minimal migrants & keeps out muslims . Last I looked they have virtually no refugees .However they could get a few Sth Koreans soon , but already the ones there for centuries are still outcasts .
Japan has always been a highly monolithic society/culture for thousands of years.
USA was founded on immigrants (read: foreign conquerors) and have always depended on immigrants to keep its society dynamic and forward-looking.
Australia’s economic size and trading power started to get serious when it opened up to immigrants from all countries.
What’s the use of talking about that illegitimate clown elected despite almost 3 million fewer votes than her opponent? What a curious democracy in USA! You lose but you win. When will people wake up to stop that anti-democratic system?
That racist guy told certain things during the campaign just to swindle people who don’t reflect much and now he makes the opposite on almost every topic except immigration and environment.
Like Bernie Sanders said, that guy is a fraud and a pathological liar.
The R agenda is always the same. Kill the democracy. Do whatever is possible to make people ignorant so cut public education. Work to make the vote harder for some people. Make everything… Read more »
Most states in the U.S. have free pre school, through public school system. I do agree that we need work though on lowering prescription drugs and cheaper publics college. Not sure if you are aware but New York state will offer FREE college for public instate kids starting in fall.
I also feel US has alot of different types of people as we were founded on immigration we have alot more views and cultures than other countries. For this I like the idea that states and local government having control rather then the whole US. This leaves less room for customized need of place. I will never believe that DC knows what my town needs more than my town… Read more »
Right on Bobo! I couldn’t have said it better. Thank you.
Well said BOBO GIGI. You live in a much more advanced/enlightened society. The old saying that ‘Americans usually do the right thing in the end’ doesn’t apply anymore with our current horrible situation.
Sanders/Booker or Warren 2020…hopefully we will all still be here for it.
Guys – let’s get back on the topic of swimming, please.
What
Ari .01 off his nr
Ledecky’s freestyle split is faster than Kalisz’s.
Ye Shiwen 2.0 free of doping though
yeah except ledecky is known as a freestyler. a very good one. a very very very very very good one.
Ye Shiwen came out of nowhere and hasnt come close to repeating that performace. Katie Ledecky is the greatest mid distance freestyler of all time with consistent performance improvement over a course of 5 years
So many fake news.
Came out of nowhere?
Let’s see.
Asian Games double IM champions in 2010
World Championships 200 IM gold medalist in 2011.
If you have to use the phrase “came out of nowhere”, it applies to Ledecky a lot more who came out of nowhere in 2012.
Shiwen also had great 200 free PB and has split 1:56.
The ignoramus are really entertaining these days.
Pebleys looked good this season. Murphy doesnt seem to be in 2016 form nor does Larkin. A lot can change from now to July, but right now id say Rylov takes 200 back world title and Pebley, Murphy, and Jiayu fight for silver and bronze
First I’ve really seen of Eva Merrell. Really like her stroke. Little splash, nice long arms and clean entry, minimal bounciness in her body. Really impressive.
I think her back is better in long course.
Prenot about where I had him, holy cow Kalisz